June 12: Carmona and Sevilla

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Another red-letter day in Spain.  As I stated last night, our parador is perched high on a hill, with a magnificent view of the plain below.  Carmona, an ancient town, sits below our aerie.  Following breakfast this morning, we had an excellent lecture by our guide Francisco, who looks to be the spitting image of the actor Xavier Bardém.  After the lecture, we strolled down the hill to Carmona, which, like Sevilla, which we explored this afternoon, is in the region of Andalucia, the southernmost territory and the most quintessentially Spanish part of the Iberian Peninsula.  Above all, it is the Moorish monuments that command most attention here.  The Moors, a mixed race of Berbers and Arabs who crossed into Spain from Morocco and North Africa, occupied al-Andalus for over 7 centuries.  They first landed in 710 and within four years had conquered almost all of the country.  Their last kingdom, Granada, fell to the Christian Reconquest in 1492.  They developed the most sophisticated civilization of the Middle Ages, centered on the three cities of Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada.  

Carmona is set on a hill overlooking a fertile plain, and shares a similar history to Sevilla.  It was an important Roman city, and nowadays consists of an old town inside the walls entered through the Puerta de Sevilla, and a more modern town located to the west of the old town.  The heart of the old town is dominated by splendid Moorish-style buildings.  We strolled through the rather quiet old town, as it was Sunday and not that many people were stirring, which is always a good time to take pictures.  

Subsequently, our bus driver picked us up for a 45-minute drive to Sevilla, capital of Andalucia.  "Seville," wrote Lord Byron, "is a pleasant city, famous for oranges and women."  Sevilla has three important monuments and an illustrious history.  It is considered to be the greatest city of the Spanish south, of Carmen, Don Juan, and Figaro.  It has a reputation for theatricality and intensity of life.  

The old city is situated along the east banks of the Guadalquivir River.  At its heart, side by side, stand three great monuments: the Giralda Tower, the Cathedral, and the Alcazar, with the cramped alleyways of the Barrio Santa Cruz, the medieval Jewish quarter, extending east of them.  

Our first great stageset of a building was the Plaza de España, in the Parque de Maria Luisa, built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.  It is like a geography  and history lesson of Spain in architecture.  It is an example of Regionalism architecture, combining Renaissance Revival with Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture into an amazing central structure with wings like arms enfolding a canal connecting all the disparate elements--an amazing tour de force!  

One more thing before I continue: on the way we passed a building that turned out to be the cigarette factory that Bizet used in the first act of the opera "Carmen," when we are first introduced to her viciousness, as she and Manuelita, another cigarette girl, have gotten into a fight, resulting in Carmen stabbing her.  Later on in the day, we also passed by the bullfighting ring, where Carmen was stabbed by Don José in the final act of the opera.  It made my favorite opera come alive once again!!!!!

Passing through the small and crooked alleyways of the Jewish Barrio de Santa Cruz, we got our final instructions to explore on our own, and I took off with Barbara and roommate Jill not to have lunch (although it was time for that) but for a museum that I particularly wanted to see--the Museo del Baile Flamenco, established by the superb flamenco dancer Cristina Hoyos, whom I had so admired when she danced in the Carlos Saura movies "Carmen," " Bodas de Sangre," and "El amor brujo" with the great Antonio Gades.  There was no way I could attend the evening performances, as they were all sold out, but the museum had so much of interest, including plenty of sophisticated videos of the various styles of flamenco, that I did not feel shafted in the least.  It is a unique museum which teaches of the soul and origins of Andalucia, , its identity and heritage.  It is an interactive museum where one can hear, see, and touch flamenco.  I have been wanting to see this museum for ages, since I am a great fan of that trio of Saura movies, and I was not disappointed.  I gave up lunch for that visit, and don't regret doing so for a moment.  Later in our visit, I will be able to hear a flamenco guitarist in concert, so I am indeed a content woman this afternoon!!!!!!!!  What a coup!  I had to pinch myself that I was experiencing flamenco in its cradle of Andalucia!

At 2:45 we met again and proceeded to the Moorish Alcazar palace and gardens.  Rulers of Sevilla have occupied the site of the Alcazar from the time of the Romans.  The great court of the Abbadids was built here and reached a peak of sophistication and sensuality under a ruler who enlarged the palace in order to house a harem of 800 women.  Later, under the Almohads, the complex was turned into a citadel, forming the heart of the town's fortifications.  

The present structure of the palace dates almost entirely from the Christian period.  The Alcazar was a favored residence of the Spanish kings for four years after the Reconquest, especially Pedro I, whose rebuilding forms the nucleus of the palace as it is today.  It offers the best of what is called Mudejar architecture (the style developed by Moors working under Christian rule).  

My favorite part of the Alcazar complex was the series of gardens, the Jardines de los Reales Alcazaras, the product of several eras and well-endowed with pools, mazes, fountains, beautiful plantings, and a feeling of peace and tranquility--all enhanced by a flawless cerulean sky.

Finally, we were off to see the great Cathedral, built on the site of a mosque and the third largest Gothic building in Europe.  It was conceived in 1402 as an unrivaled monument to Christian glory.  To make way for this new monument, , the Almohad mosque that stood on the proposed site was almost entirely demolished.  The Cathedral was completed in just over a century (finished in 1506), and is the largest Gothic church in the world.  The central nave rises to 42 meters, and even the side aisles seem tall enough to support separate churches.  Due to its dimensions, it is the largest church in the world, surpassing St. Paul's in London and St. Peter's in Rome!  

Also in the church is the tomb of Christopher Columbus.  His remains were originally interred in the cathedral of Havana, on the island he had discovered on his first voyage in 1492.  Eventually, his remains were transferred to Sevilla in 1902 (he had accepted the decree of Ferdinand and Isabella to undertake his journey of discovery from a room in the Alcazar).  His coffin in the Cathedral is held aloft by four huge allegorical figures, representing the kingdoms of León, Castile, Aragon, and Navarra.  

The nave is grand, but somewhat gloomy.  I liked the cathedral, but it bothered me that there was no clear entrance, and the entire central nave had in the middle a choir and then a highly ornate altar with a screen in front of it (the work of a Flemish craftsman and the largest and richest altarpiece in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic woodcarving).  The audience seats were between the choir and the altar.  It gave the church a cut-up feel. I felt the church was awesome and overwhelming, but not welcoming in the least.  

And then our visit was over, and we walked back to where the bus picked us up and then transported us back to Carmona and our Parador.  We got back tired and exhausted, especially since temperatures had climbed to about 100 degrees today.  A quick nap and some air conditioning restored me back to capacity, and I have just returned from dinner, which included an aperitif, a soup of spinach and chickpeas Carmona-style; braised beef in red wine and pumpkin puree; and flan with olive oil ice cream and strawberry jam.  About to call it a day.  Cordoba awaits tomorrow!  As ever, SV 

 

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas